Stage 05 — Decide
Decide where to register
Offers in hand? Weigh them up properly. Compare institutions side by side, re-check programme requirements, and make sure the funding and registration dates line up.
- Side-by-side compare
- Programme detail
- Final checks
Start here
Compare institutions
Put up to three institutions next to each other on the details that matter.
OpenRe-check your programme
Confirm APS, subject minimums and qualification type before accepting.
OpenConfirm your funding
Make sure your funding follows you to the institution you choose.
OpenCommon questions
Multiple offers, deposits, registration and changing your mind.
OpenAccepted — registration and residence
An offer is not a place until you accept and register. Work through these steps in order, and watch the deadline on your offer letter — unclaimed places are released quickly.
1. Accept the offer in writing
Confirm on the applicant portal before the date on your letter. Decline the offers you will not take so other students can be placed.
2. Pay the acceptance or registration fee
Most institutions require an upfront fee or minimum initial payment. NSFAS-funded students are usually exempt — check before paying.
3. Lock in your funding
Update NSFAS or your bursary with the institution you chose, and make sure the correct programme code is on file.
4. Apply for or confirm residence
Residence is a separate application at most institutions and fills faster than the programme. Have a private accommodation backup shortlisted.
5. Register during your faculty window
Registration dates differ by faculty and year of study. Late registration usually carries a penalty fee.
6. Plan arrival and orientation
Book travel, budget for textbooks and transport, and diarise orientation week — it is where you set up your student card and timetable.
Waitlisted — what it means
A waitlist, reserve list or selection list means you qualify but the programme is full. You move up only when accepted students decline their places.
- Typical wait
- January – early February
- Odds
- Programme dependent
- Cut-off
- Start of term one
Most movement happens once final NSC results land and accepted students confirm or drop out.
High-demand programmes such as medicine move very little; general degrees move more.
Lists usually close once registration ends — after that you plan for the next cycle.
While you are on the list
- Reply to every email and SMS immediately — offers off a waitlist often expire within 48 hours.
- Keep a firm offer elsewhere alive rather than declining everything for a maybe.
- Ask the faculty admissions office where you sit on the list; some will tell you.
- Submit any improved or supplementary results as soon as they are available.
Rejected — your next moves
An unsuccessful outcome closes one door, not the year. Most students who are turned down by their first choice still start studying in the same intake.
1. Appeal, if grounds exist
- Appeal windows are short — usually 7 to 21 days from the outcome date.
- Appeals succeed on facts: a captured mark that is wrong, a missing result, or a supplementary exam outcome.
- Submit through the official appeals form with certified supporting documents.
- Disappointment alone is not grounds; a corrected APS is.
2. Institutions still open
- Universities of technology and several universities run late or second-semester intakes.
- Check live status on our directory before you assume a door is shut.
- Consider a related programme with a lower APS at the same institution and transfer later.
3. TVET and college routes
- Public TVET colleges offer NC(V) and NATED programmes with lower entry requirements and low fees.
- A higher certificate or National Diploma can articulate into a degree after one or two years.
- Private colleges offer accredited qualifications with rolling intakes through the year.
- NSFAS funds qualifying students at public TVET colleges, including a stipend.